New York Yankees: 3 Players Who Must Step Up in Second Half
Boasting a 49-43 record and currently finding themselves out of a playoff spot, the New York Yankees began their second half Friday night against the Colorado Rockies with a heightened sense of urgency. That became evident this past Sunday as the Bronx Bombers made a rare in-season firing, relieving hitting coach Dillon Lawson of his duties and replacing him with former three-time MLB All-Star Sean Casey.
Casey is tasked with improving a Yankees offense that ranks 28th in batting average (.231), crippled by the absence of superstar Aaron Judge.
Of course, the offense is just part of the equation if New York is to make a serious run toward October baseball.
Having said that, here are three Yankees who must step up between now and the end of the regular season.
OF Aaron Judge
The face of the franchise, Judge has missed the past 31 games due to a torn ligament in his right toe, his absence leaving a gaping hole as big as the 6’7, 282-pound giant himself. Prior to injury, the reigning AL MVP was hitting .291 with 19 home runs, 40 RBI, and a league-best 1.078 OPS in 49 games. While there is no timetable for his return, Yankees brass remain confident that Judge will be back at some point during the second half. If and when that happens, New York will need the 31-year-old slugger to pick up where he left off in an offense that has proven anything but productive without him. This leads me to…
Struggling Veteran Bats (Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Josh Donaldson, Anthony Rizzo)
The Bronx Bombers simply need the veterans in their lineup to step up offensively. Giancarlo Stanton has shown signs of life but is still hitting just .203. Former batting champion DJ LeMahieu holds a .220 average. Anthony Rizzo is marred in an 11-55 slump and hasn’t homered in his past 36 games. Meanwhile, Josh Donaldson has been the definition of an all-or-nothing player, with ten of his 15 hits being home runs in 112 plate appearances, good for a .152 average. It goes without saying that all four must be more consistent if New York is to withstand Judge’s absence.
SP Carlos Rodon
Inking a six-year, $162 million contract last offseason, Rodon was sidelined by a back injury before making his much-anticipated Yankees debut on July 7 against the Cubs, allowing two runs on four hits over 5.1 innings. It was an encouraging performance, which he did not build on Friday at Coors Field (4 earned runs, 5 innings). With Luis Severino (1-4, 7.38 ERA) struggling mightily, Rodon must live up to his massive salary and be a viable second starter behind ace Gerrit Cole.
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